North Korea to skip the Olympics for the 1st time in 3 decades

Tokyo — Citing concerns over the coronavirus, North Korea has announced that it will not join the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, which start in late July. It would be the first time North Korea has declined to participate in an Olympics since it boycotted the Seoul Games in 1988.

Japan was apparently blindsided by the announcement from North Korea's Olympic Committee that it wouldn't be sending teams to the Tokyo Games. South Korea's government expressed disappointment over losing the chance to re-start contacts with Kim Jong Un's regime on the sidelines of the Games.